Joe Hendry shows respect for WWE legend; reveals he got into wrestling because of the former World Champion

TNA star Joe Hendry recently showed immense respect for a former WWE Champion after claiming that the latter was the reason he got into professional wrestling. The legendary performer in question is The Rock.

Joe Hendry made a surprise appearance on the June 18 edition of NXT. He participated in the 25-man Battle Royal to determine Trick Williams' next challenger for the NXT Championship. The former TNA Digital Media Champion's appearance garnered record-breaking numbers on social media despite his early elimination from the match.

The 36-year-old recently took to X to reshare a video posted by Chris Van Vliet of his interview with the latter. In the video, Hendry claimed he got into the wrestling business because of The Rock. He stated that he loved The People's Champion's promos and character work:

"The Rock is the reason I got into the business. I did not grow up a wrestling fan as a kid. I got in through the video games. I just loved the Rock's promos and the Rock's character, and I just thought that was, to me, the best example of, if you showed someone a segment of the Rock to a non-wrestling fan, they'll go, 'I get wrestling.' And I've always been inspired by that," he said.

You can check out the X update below:

Joe Hendry opens up about his previous WWE appearance

Joe Hendry's much-talked-about appearance on NXT was not the first time he was on WWE television. He'd previously played the role of a lawyer for Rusev (aka Miro) and Lana (aka CJ Perry). Hendry had also featured on several house shows in the past.

In the same interview, the Scottish professional wrestler opened up about his previous appearances. He mentioned delivering a 90-second promo on SmackDown in London while pointing out that many stars do not get mic time on the main roster:

"I'm a seven or eight-time Rosebud at this point, many times because there were the house shows as well. [...] I was actually Rusev and Lana's lawyer at one point as well, which was crazy because, if you think about how few people get mic time on RAW and SmackDown, I cut a 90-second promo as their lawyer on, I think it was SmackDown in Liverpool," he said.

After Joe Hendry broke the internet, WWE might look to get the TNA star to be on the white and gold brand more often. It will be interesting to see what lies ahead for the Scotsman following his blockbuster appearance.